Nigerian-British Boxer, Anthony Joshua has disclosed that he has decided not to enter the ring this year in order to “rest mentally” after losing to Oleksandr Usyk in August.
Anthony Joshua was unsuccessful in his attempt to reclaim his world titles from Usyk when the Nigerian-British boxer faced the Ukrainian a second time in Saudi Arabia in August.
After losing the fight, Joshua started a bizarre rant in the ring, for which he later apologized.
The former two-time world champion stated that his post-fight actions showed how important the rematch was to him and that this caused friends to strongly advise him against returning too quickly to the ring.
Speaking in an interview with DAZN, Joshua said, “You saw after my last fight, it tore me apart.
“I had so much riding on it, for me, the British fans, the undisputed fight, it just really tore me apart. So from a mental capacity, my close ones are telling me: ‘you should rest mentally’.
“Physically, I’m down to fight. I’m a warrior, I like this game, I like competing. But on a mental aspect, I think people have really seen it means a lot.”
Tyson Fury challenged Anthony Joshua to a potentially monumental domestic heavyweight match only a few weeks after his defeat to Usyk,
Joshua initially agreed to Fury’s terms as negotiations between the two teams for a fight on December 3 appeared to be progressing well.
After that, negotiations between the two camps fell apart. Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn claimed Fury’s team did not respond when they returned the first draft of the contract, while the Gypsy King’s chief negotiator George Warren claimed Joshua’s camp remained silent when it came to discussing the proposed match.